Eating Disorders (ED) are recognized as the third most common chronic illness among adolescents (Herpertz-Dahlmann, 2015; Rosen, 2003). Evolution of ED is known to be heterogenous in between patients, but prognosis seems more favourable when the disorder appears at adolescence (Steinhausen, 2002; 2009). The study of individual difficulties seems like an interesting avenue to refine our understanding of the psychological functioning of those suffering from ED. This study aimed to: (1) Describe the behavioural and affective profile of inpatient adolescent girls with a restricting type of Anorexia Nervosa (ANR) ; (2) Investigate the presence of a relationship between the behavioural and affective difficulties measured and the intensity of the disorder; (3) Examine the presence of a relationship between the individual problems and weight gain during inpatient treatment.
The sample consisted of 52 inpatient adolescent girls presenting an ANR. The Youth Self Report assessed the behavioural and affective difficulties, while the Eating Disorder Risk Composite was used as the indicator of the intensity of the disorder. A ratio between Body Mass Index (BMI) at admission and at the end of hospitalization was calculated to measure weight gain during treatment. The sample was characterized by an average internalized profile of individual difficulties that reached the clinical threshold. Three different profiles of problems were found within the sample: (1) normative, (2) pure internalizing, (3) mixed (with difficulties that differed from norms on both the internalizing and externalizing clusters). Strong positive correlations were found between individual characteristics and intensity of the disorder, whereas a moderate and negative association was found between weight gain and the externalizing features measured. The internalized profile of difficulties found for the sample (particularly elevated for anxious and depressed problems) seems consistent with previous studies on comorbidities for adolescent ED. This description provides information on the heterogeneity of this specific population, which is otherwise quite similar, hence giving strength to the idea of a global assessment of the functioning of the adolescent at admission and an individualized form of treatment that takes into consideration the specific difficulties reported by the patient. Significant correlations were found between results on the YSR and on the EDRC which proposes that the more important the symptoms of the ANR are, the more affected the functioning of the adolescent will be for the emotional and behavioural problems measured. Finally, results show that girls presenting higher levels of externalized difficulties were those who gained less weight during treatment, which seems to demonstrate that certain treatment strategies could benefit more certain types of patients.